A local Russian news outlet, URA.RU, has released new video footage of a raid conducted by riot police on an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Yekaterinburg. The video shows police officers, dressed in balaclavas, helmets and protective riot vests, entering a dimly lit nightclub. 

The music abruptly stops as they enter. As the main lights come on, one of the officers can be heard shouting as he slaps the wall to get patrons’ attention. Immediately, the attendees begin filing out of the club as staff stand around, looking bewildered.

The video was allegedly recorded at Club Fame in Yekaterinburg, the country’s fourth-largest city. This is the latest raid in a spate of ongoing attacks on LGBTQ+ spaces being carried out by Russian police.

The Club Fame raid comes just two weeks after the Russian Supreme Court declared LGBTQ+ activism illegal in the country. On Thursday, November 30, the Court passed a motion to ban the “international LGBTQ+ movement”, deeming it as “extremist”. 

Following the judgement, activists expressed fears it would lead to arrests and prosecutions. Within 48 hours of the ruling, Russian newspaper Meduza reported that raids had taken place at at least four LGBTQ+ establishments in Moscow, including a nightclub, male sauna and bar. According to the report, police had told patrons that they were searching for drugs and took photographs of their passports and identification documents.

Videos posted on social media verified the report, showing a heavy law enforcement presence at the targeted venues. At the sauna, people were told to lie face down on the floor while Russian police conducted the raid.

Radio Free Europe reports that during the most recent raid, dozens of attendees were detained while police documented their personal information.

A spokesperson for the Russian LGBTQ+ rights organisation Sphere explained to Radio Free Europe that President Vladamir Putin “has said that being an LGBT person is possible in Russia, and they are allegedly not discriminated against”. However, whilst they believe that there is “little chance” that authorities will seek to prosecute the visitors of Club Fame, they “don’t know why the police are collecting personal data and photographing IDs.”

The most recent police raid is just the latest in an ongoing attack on Russian LGBTQ+ rights that has come into effect under the Putin regime. In 2013, the government introduced the so-called ‘gay propaganda’ law, which was expanded to include adults in November 2022. In July of this year, they also outlawed gender-affirming healthcare in a country-wide ban.